Homecoming for Keep

San Diego center Jason Keep is drawing plenty of attention at the Spokane, Wash., subregional, and it has nothing to do with his 6-foot-10 frame and the flashy tattoos on his shoulders.

Keep grew up in Moscow, Idaho, and played his senior year of high school basketball in Pullman, Wash.

He started his college career at North Idaho Junior College in nearby Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, which is 30 miles from Spokane. He saw an old buddy during San Diego’s practice at Spokane Arena on Wednesday.

“I grew up here. It’s home to me,” said Keep, who played two seasons at Oklahoma State before transferring to San Diego. “I’ve played high school games in this arena. I’ve got a lot of family here.”

The 13th-seeded Toreros play fourth-seeded Stanford in a South Regional game today.

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A blizzard that closed Denver International Airport canceled the University of Colorado’s flight Wednesday for its first-round NCAA tournament game in Tampa, Fla.

The team planned to take a bus this morning to Colorado Springs, then charter a jet and arrive in Tampa around 3:30 p.m. EST, in time for a mandatory news conference at 6:30 p.m. and practice afterward.

“It becomes a distraction if we allow it to be,” Coach Ricardo Patton said. “It affects our timing of getting acclimated to Eastern time.”

Colorado (20-11), the 10th-seeded team in the South Regional, is scheduled to play seventh-seeded Michigan State (19-12) on Friday.